Nayanthara Reached No 1

she is as hot as the Malayalam superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal in Kerala. All her Telugu films dubbed into Malayalam like Lakshmi, Boss, Yogi, Dubai Seenu etc. were purchased at throwaway prices turning out to be hits! Her Tamil Billa became the first Ajit film to collect a distributor's share of over Rs 1 Crore from Kerala!

In fact her swimsuit still from Billa is the hottest pin-up in bars, coffee shops, restaurants etc. Billa has made her a cult figure in Kerala. Her next release Yaaradi Nee Mogini has been sold for Rs 42 lakhs, the highest ever paid for a Dhanush film in Kerala.

After Mohanlal's big budget Rs 4 crore Flash bombed badly at the Kerala box-office, Tommichan Mulakkupadam an NRI and the film's producer snapped up Sathyam with Vishal and Nayanthara for a whopping Rs 60 lakhs! Mulakkupadam feels that Nayan's glamour along with Harris Jayaraj's music and Vishal's dare-devil action is better than investing on a Mohanlal Film!

Last week Mulakkupadam was in Chennai trying to pay an advance and confirm Ajit- Nayan starrer Aegan, for which he is willing to shell out Rs 1 crore for Kerala rights. The trade in Kerala feels it is more profitable to dub any Telugu Nayanthara film or buy a Tamil film rather than make a straight Malayalam film!

This Easter (March 21) weekend Nayanthara’s dubbed version of Thulasi is releasing in Kerala with a record 35 prints! It is being released like a big Malayalam film with cut-out's and vinyl hoardings all over Kerala. Sexy posters (definitely not from Thulasi, a family entertainer) of the hot and happening actress has been pasted all over the state.

It has resulted in two Malayalam films with small stars being postponed to a further date as they do not want to clash with a film which according to the trade "will get a better opening"!
Meanwhile there is tremendous pressure on Nayanthara to do Malayalam films with the superstars. The smart girl that she is, Nayan has done a special dance number in Twenty: 20, being produced by the powerful Malayalam film artists association (AMMA) without whose support her films cannot run in Kerala